Figure 15 shows how the compound microscope is structured .

• To view an enlarged image of an object, you place the specimen on a glass slide.
• This slide is placed on the platform located above a light source.
• A mirror is used to reflect light up and into the microscope.
• Light rays from below pass up through the specimen and then pass through a convex lens called the objective.
• The objective lens produces an enlarged, upside-down, real image.
• The eyepiece is the second convex lens. It enlarges the image, thus producing an enlarged, virtual image of the object.